SHM Converge Meeting News Central
  • hospitalmedicine.org
  • #SHMConverge25
  • Daily Coverage
  • Awards
  • Special Events
  • Program
  • Previews
Topics
  • Daily Coverage
  • Awards
  • Special Events
  • Program
  • Previews
Resources
  • Featured Speakers
  • Advanced Learning Courses
  • Conference FAQs
  • Claiming CME and Other Credits
  • SHM Converge 2026
Twitter X icon Facebook iconInstagram iconLinkedIn icon
Mar 7th, 2022

Critical knowledge for critical care

Staying current on the latest changes in critical care guidelines can help you make the right decisions at the right time.


Jocelyn Zee, DO, FAAFP, SFHM
Jocelyn Zee, DO, FAAFP, SFHM

For hospitalists, there are few moments of greater pressure than dealing with a critically ill patient.

Jocelyn Zee, DO, FAAFP, SFHM, critical care physician with Acclaim Physician Group in Fort Worth, Texas, said that is one time that the hospitalist truly feels that all eyes are on them.

“Walking into a room with a critically ill patient or seeing someone take a turn for the worse can be quite harrowing—everyone in the room then turns to you for the answers,” she said. “In some situations, you are it, you are ‘the help.’”

Arming yourself with the latest information and advances in critical care can dramatically increase your opportunity for success and help you make the right choices in difficult cases.  

Patricia Kritek, MD, EdM, professor of pulmonary care, critical care, and sleep medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle, said the Advanced Learning Course, “Turning Chaos Into Calm: Critical Care Management for Today’s Hospitalist,” will include sessions on ventilator management, shock, neurologic emergencies, toxidromes, and more. In addition, there will be two case-based sessions that will allow participants to walk through each case and make diagnostic and therapeutic decisions.

“One session will focus on patients with acute respiratory failure and the other is a collection of challenging cases,” Dr. Kritek said. “We’ve tried to highlight areas of debate and controversy in critical care like assessing volume responsiveness, what fluid to choose for resuscitation, and when to start a pressor. These are areas with conflicting results in trials and long-established practice patterns. I think many clinicians have strong opinions on what to do, and we don’t have definitive trial data that says ‘this is the one right way to do it.’”

Staying informed is crucial to making the right decisions in critical care. Updated Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines were released by the Society of Critical Care Medicine in 2021. Dr. Zee said one of the more notable changes was a shift in the language from a “strong” recommendation for an initial fluid bolus of 30 mL/kg to a “weak” recommendation.

“The latest guidelines actually say ‘suggests’ instead of ‘recommends,’” Dr. Zee added. “They also recommend a balanced crystalloid solution over normal saline solution for resuscitation.”

Another change that stands out for Dr. Zee involves the administration of vasopressors.

“There might have been delays in the administration of vasopressors, since many believed they could only be initiated via central venous access, which can be limited depending on where you practice,” she said. “The 2021 guidelines speak to starting vasopressors immediately and peripherally and not having to wait until central access is established. Obviously, there are some caveats and careful monitoring that must occur with this.”

The course will also feature an update on airway management from Todd Rice, MD, associate professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, and co-author of a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2021 that suggested the use of the bougie—a semirigid introducer that can be placed in the trachea to facilitate tracheal intubation—might improve intubation success on the first attempt.  

“Our goal is to help hospitalists feel more comfortable with a wide array of critical illnesses as well as think through when it makes sense to call for help,” Dr. Kritek said. 

Visit SHM Meeting News Central for more coverage.

Interesting Stories
JHM’s Innovations Corner and Point Counterpoint
From SHM
JHM’s Innovations Corner and Point Counterpoint
Shining a Spotlight on National Hospitalist Day
From SHM
Shining a Spotlight on National Hospitalist Day
SHM Hill Day 2024: Working for you on Capitol Hill
From SHM
SHM Hill Day 2024: Working for you on Capitol Hill
More Content
Image of a woman leading a discussion at a round table.
Previews
SHM Converge 2025 introduces first roundtable discussions
Mar 13th, 2025
Head shot of Rachel Cyrus, MD, and Lakshmi Swaminathan, MD, MHSA, SFHM
Previews
Managing surges seamlessly
Mar 13th, 2025
Head shots of Gigi Liu, MD, MSc, Meltiady Issa, MD, MBA, FACP, SFHM, and Sharmila Tilak, MD
Previews
Stack your deck with an AI education
Mar 13th, 2025
Head shots of Keri Holmes-Maybank, MD, MSCR, SFHM, and Anna-Maria South, MD, FACP, FASAM
Previews
Treating patients with alcohol and substance use disorders
Mar 13th, 2025
Head shots of Daniel D. Dressler, MD, MSc, and Heather E. Nye, MD, PhD
Previews
Learning course to explore new guidelines, therapeutics
Mar 13th, 2025
Head shot of Catriona Herrop, MD, FACP, SFHM, and Smita Kalra, MD, FACP, SFHM
Previews
Taking charge of perioperative care
Mar 6th, 2024
Head shot of Christopher Whinney, MD, FACP, SFHM
Previews
Welcome to my MED-TED talk
Feb 29th, 2024
Head shots of Aziz Ansari, DO, FAAHPM, FACP, SFHM Brian McGillen, MD, FACP, SFHM
Previews
Making the most of the bedside and beyond
Feb 29th, 2024
Head shot of Zhe Chen, MD
Previews
Artificial intelligence could be the real future of hospital medicine
Mar 7th, 2024
Head shot of Nirmish Shah, MD
Previews
Managing the most common issue in sickle cell patients
Feb 21st, 2023
Comedian Thom Tran
Previews
Laughing in the face of adversity
Feb 22nd, 2023
Head shot of Jocelyn Zee, DO, FAAFP, SFHM, and Alice Gallo De Moraes, MD
Previews
Knowing when to call for help — and how to manage when you can’t
Feb 20th, 2023
SHM Converge Meeting News Central
Twitter X icon Facebook iconInstagram iconLinkedIn icon

Society of Hospital Medicine
1500 Spring Garden, Suite 501
Philadelphia, PA 19130

Phone: 800-843-3360
Fax: 267-702-2690
[email protected]